Carved doors

ABSTRACT

Methods are provided for economically producing doors having decorative carvings thereon. After selecting a prefabricated wooden door frame with one or more openings therein for receiving decorative carved panels, which openings have disposed therein thin plywood panels providing decorative panel insert areas, &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;carved&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; panels of polyurethane structural foam are formed by injection molding expandable plastic into a mold of a configuration of the final &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;carved&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; design. The formed foamed panels are subsequently adhered to one or both sides of the surfaces of the plywood panels. Subsequently, the combined woodpolyurethane doors are specially treated to provide an integrated, &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;all wood&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; appearing door having appropriately configured carvings disposed on the surface thereof. Also, disclosed herein are the new doors produced by the new methods.

iJnited Etates Patent 1 Zaroor 51 May 8, 1973 54 CARVED DOORS [75] Inventor: Fred E. Zaroor, Muskogee, Okla.

[73] Assignee: Indian Capitol Plastics, Inc.,

Muskogee, Okla.

[22] Filed: Dec. 29, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 213,356

[52] US. Cl. ..52/309, 52/455, 52/615, 156/245, 156/249 [51] Int. Cl. ..E06b 3/70 [58] Field of Search ..52/455, 456, 315, 52/316, 615, 309; 156/245, 299; 161/39, 41, 42

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 848,661 4/1907 Kostelaitz ..52/455 Primary Examiner.lohn E. Murtagh Attorney-Hubert T. Mandeville et a],

[ 1 ABSTRACT Methods are provided for economically producing doors having decorative carvings thereon. After selecting a prefabricated wooden door frame with one or more openings therein for receiving decorative carved panels, which openings have disposed therein thin plywood panels providing decorative panel insert areas, carved panels of polyurethane structural foam are formed by injection molding expandable plastic into a mold of a configuration of the final carved design. The formed foamed panels are subsequently adhered to one or both sides of the surfaces of the plywood panels. Subsequently, the combined wood-polyurethane doors are specially treated to provide an integrated, all wood appearing door having appropriately configured carvings disposed on the surface thereof. Also, disclosed herein are the new doors produced by the new methods.

10 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures Patented May 8, 1973 3,731,443

FIG. I

CARVED DOORS BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF INVENTION Generally speaking, the present invention relates to methods for producing doors and the doors produced by those methods. More particularly, this invention relates to methods for producing doors having intricately designed woodlike" carvings in the panels thereof and in a manner which makes the final product produced by the methods herein highly attractive commercially.

As is well known, the architectural and decorative tastes of the general public, both with respect to private residences and commercial establishments, have become more varied and selective in recent years. As a consequence, it has become necessary to provide a wide variety of design configurations in the appurtenances, which provide the particular style of the building being constructed and designed. As a result, it becomes necessary to provide a wider selection of different designs, such as Mediterrean, Early American, French Provincial and so forth, in order to conform to the particular taste of the individual requiring that a structure be built or redecorated or redesigned.

However, with ever increasing costs oflabor, it is difficult to produce or provide a wide variety of these designs to conform to the different tastes of the individuals involved on a mass production basis, particularly with respect to intricately formed or carved furniture, door panels, balustrades and other decorations which serve to give a structure its particular desired characteristics.

Thus, the problem arises that, although there is an increasingly sophisticated market for a wide variety of different designs, the cost of producing these different designs on a mass production basis makes production of the desired designs economically prohibitive except for a select few.

Certain suggestions have been made in the past for overcoming these difficulties, particularly with the development of structural foam moldings for producing simulated wood carvings for a variety of applications. In addition, certain developments havebeen made for producing door-shaving the appropriately designed and configured decorative panels thereon from such resin materials as polyurethane foam. However, such arrangements include utilizing extremely large molds for producing the entire door or whatever structural object such as wooden beams for a room which are to be produced. With such arrangements, the actual construction of the mold for producing such large objects becomes important with such applications only being appropriate for producing substantial numbers of such objects. If it is desired to produce only a comparatively small number of a particular design for a selective market, then the use of such large molds and the cost of making the molds in the first place makes such selective marketing, again, economically prohibitive.

By contrast, it has now been found in accordance herewith, that a wide variety of appropriately designed doors can be produced for a selective market providing a considerable variety of designs for the discriminating purchaser and in a manner which makes the doors produced thereby economically attractive on a somewhat selective mass production basis.

The above is achieved by first preselecting a prefabricated wooden door frame which has one or more openings in it depending upon the number of decorative foam panels to be applied to the door. Disposed in these openings are plywood pieces of approximately one-fourth inch thick, which plywood pieces serve as the support surfaces against which the decorative panels are subsequently adhered. Obviously, other materials can be substituted for plywood such as pressed fiberboard and a variety of structurally equivalent resin products which are on the market. The foam panels are then produced by molds such as silicone rubber molds which are made from actual wood carvings which have been wire brushed to bring out and emphasize the grain pattern and which are therefore configured to produce the final polyurethane panels of the design required or desired, i.e., wood-grained carvings. Prior to injection of the polyurethane into the mold cavity, a release agent is applied to the internal surfaces of the mold, all in well known manner. Thereafter, the polyurethane is injected into the mold for expansion therein to form the carved panels of a particular configuration. The general molding procedure may be, for example, more or less in accordance with Angel U.S. Pat. No. 3,268,636 or 3,436,446.

The polyurethane foams are generally formed from compositions which include polymers containing three hydroxy groups, such as hydroxyl terminated polyester or polyether, an organic diisocyanate, and a small amount of water. For the best results, a catalyst, preferably an amine catalyst, a tin catalyst and an em ulsifier are also included. Such compositions may be formed or otherwise treated in a manner known in the art to produce the desired cellular product.

As purely illustrative of a rigid urethane foam formulation which may be used in accordance herewith for making the molded part, one may note the following composition:

A. Polyfunctional Polyoxypropylene Polymer based on Methyl Glucoside [00.0 grams B. Polymethylene, PolyphenyI-isocyanate 109.0 grams C. Dimethylethanolamine 1.0 grams D. Dibutylindilaurate 1.0 grams E. Dimethylsiloxy-siloxane type surfactant 1.5 grams F. Trichlorofluoromethane (as an auxiliary blowing agent) 37.0 grams The amount of the above composition injected into the mold cavity varies depending upon the size of the panel being produced, in accordance herewith.

After the carved panel is produced in the mold, it is subsequently adhered to the surface of the plywood in the openings of the door either on one or both sides, as desired, by the use of any well known adhesive such as a mastic. Subsequent to this adherence of the carved panels to the surface of the plywood, thin wood moldings are placed around the periphery of the carved polyurethane panels, and these moldings are connected both to the door frame proper as well as the polyurethane panels so as to hold the panels firmly in place, these thin moldings may be adhered to the door by the use of pins, brads, and adhesives, all in well known manner. Advantageously, these thin moldings provide an attractive framing for the carved polyurethane panels applied to the doors.

Accordingly, with the foregoing and other objects in view, this invention will be more particularly described,

and other objects and advantages hereof will be apparent from the following description, the accompanying drawings, and the appended claims.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a door having decorative foam panels disposed in the openings thereof and showing a plurality of such openings with panels disposed on the door; and

FIG. 2 is a cross section along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views thereof, one construction or arrangement embodying this invention is indicated as including a door with a top and bottom decoratively carved panel having disposed therein a centrally located planar panel.

As indicated in FlG. l, the door, generally designated 10, is comprised of a frame structure 12 which may be mass produced ofa size generally utilized for particular applications, such as the front door of residences. The door 10, as is shown in FIG. I, has three openings 14 therein with the top and bottom openings 14 being of the same size, whereas the central opening 14 is ofa smaller size.

As can be seen in FIG. 2, the frame 12 has extending from one side thereof to the other a thin panel structure 22 which may be of plywood, pressed fiberboard or a resin material with the panel 22 being inserted into grooves formed in the frame 12 on both sides thereof. Obviously, there will be grooves at the top and bottom of opening 14, as viewed in FIG. 1, as well as the sides for holding the panel 22 firmly in the frame opening 14. This construction serves to provide carved pane] receiving insert areas 24 for the subsequent application of the polyurethane molded, carved panels..The panels are formed of the desired configuration, in accordance with the procedure noted above, to provide a particular design configuration such as 18 in FIG. 1. The formed carved panels 16 areapplied to one or both surfaces of panel 22 with the arrangement shown here being the application of carved panels 16 on both sides of the panel 22. As noted above, panels 16 are adhered to the surface of panel 22' by an appropriate mastic type adhesive, all in well known manner, for support and reinforcement. Subsequent to adhesion ofpanel 16 to panel 22, the framing structures or moldings are applied around the four sides of the panel 16, as shown in FIG. 1 and these molding frameS 20 are adhered both to the surfaces of frames 12 and the molded panel 16, as shown in FIG. 2.

After formation of door 10, the entire surface thereof may be treated in order to give both the surfaces of polyurethane carved molding panels and the wood frame the appearance of a uniformly constructed carved door. For example, one or more vinyl stains may be sprayed on and wiped off to give the entire surface of the door a uniform tone. If desired, prior to the application of'the stain, the wooden door itself may be wire brushed to bring out the grain to generally match the same with the grain of the carved woodgrain panels 16. Subsequent to the application of the stain, which is usually applied by spraying in two coatings and manually wiped off, a vinyl barrier coating will be applied to the surfaces of the door in order to provide weather resistance for the door particularly if it is to be exposed to the elements. Subsequent to this treatment, two sealing coats will be applied individually to give the various parts of the door a final integrated and enhanced all wood appearance. Usually, the wood utilized for the frame 12 will be fir, whereas the molding 20 will be comprised of oak.

Thus, there is provided in accordance herewith interior designer-type doors having appropriate and intricately carved panels disposed thereon which appear to have been formed after long hours of work by wood craftsmen, and with the doors actually being comprised of mass produced frames with plywood opening inserts disposed therein and with relatively inexpensive individual panels formulated of a configuration, as desired in order to produce a wide variety of attractive doors of different carving configurations. With such an arrangement, the methods herein produce door products of enhanced designs for a discerning public and in a variety which is appropriate for a large number of tastes and in a manner which makes the doors economically feasible for production on a substantially mass produced basis.

While the methods and products herein described constitute preferred embodiments of this invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to these precise methods and products, and that changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention which is defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a method for producing laminated doors having carved panels disposed on the surface thereof, the steps which comprise preselecting a wooden door frame having a first predetermined woodgrain and at least one opening disposed therein with a thin member extending over said opening to provide at least one carved panel insert area on one or both sides of said frame, injecting polyurethane into a mold having a configuration conforming to the desired design of said carved panels, and having a second predetermined grain, expanding said foam in said mold to form said carved panel, adhering at least one of said carved panels to the surface of said thin member in said panel insert area, applying amolding around the circumference of said adhered carved panel adjacent the junction of the edge of said carved panel with said door frame, and treating the surface of said frame and said carved panel to produce an integrally appearing door having at least one decoratively carved panel disposed on the surface thereof.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, in which said thin member is comprised of one-fourth inch plywood.

3. A method as recited in claim 1, in which said adhering step is carried out with mastic.

4. A method as recited in claim 1, in which said frame, said molding, and said foam panel have generally similar grain patterns herein.

5. A method as recited in claim 1, in which said treating step includes wire brushing said surfaces, spraying said surfaces with vinyl stain, applying a vinyl barrier coating, and applying a sealing coat.

6. In a door having a wooden frame with at least one opening disposed therein, the combination which comprises a thin-walled panel disposed in each of said openings and having a thickness less than said wooden frame, at least one injection molded, decorative structural foam panel adhered to a side of said thin-walled panel, a wooden molding disposed around the circumference of said structural foam panel at the intersection of each side of said foam panel with said frame, and said molding being connected to said foam panel and said frame along the entire length of said molding.

7. A door as described in claim 6, in which the width and length of said thin-walled panel is slightly larger than said opening, and in which grooves are formed in said frame for insertion of the edges of said thin-walled 

1. In a method for producing laminated doors having carved panels disposed on the surface thereof, the steps which comprise preselecting a wooden door frame having a first predetermined woodgrain and at least one opening disposed therein with a thin member extending over said opening to provide at least one carved panel insert area on one or both sides of said frame, injecting polyurethane into a mold having a configuration conforming to the desired design of said carved panels, and having a second predetermined grain, expanding said foam in said mold to form said carved panel, adhering at least one of said carved panels to the surface of said thin member in said panel insert area, applying a molding around the circumference of said adhered carved panel adjacent the junction of the edge of said carved panel with said door frame, and treating the surface of said frame and said carved panel to produce an integrally appearing door having at least one decoratively carved panel disposed on the surface thereof.
 2. A method as recited in claim 1, in which said thin member is comprised of one-fourth inch plywood.
 3. A method as recited in claim 1, in which said adhering step is carried out with mastic.
 4. A method as recited in claim 1, in which said frame, said molding, and said foam panel have generally similar grain patterns herein.
 5. A method as recited in claim 1, in which said treating step includes wire brushing said surfaces, spraying said surfaces with vinyl stain, applying a vinyl barrier coating, and applying a sealing coat.
 6. In a door having a wooden frame with at least one opening disposed therein, the combination which comprises a thin-walled panel disposed in each of said openings and having a thickness less than said wooden frame, at least one injection molded, decorative structural foam panel adhered to a side of said thin-walled panel, a wooden molding disposed around the circumference of said structural foam panel at the intersection of each side of said foam panel with said frame, and said molding being connected to said foam panel and said frame along the entire length of said molding.
 7. A door as described in claim 6, in which the width and length of said thin-walled panel is slightly larger than said opening, and in which grooves are formed in said frame for insertion of the edges of said thin-walled panel.
 8. A door as recited in claim 6, in which said thin-walled member is one-fourth inch thick and is comprised of a member selected from the group consisting of plywood, pressed fiberboard and a non-flexible resin.
 9. A door as recited in claim 6, in which said structural foam material is rigid polyurethane.
 10. A door as recited in claim 6, in which said frame, said molding, and said foam panels have generally similar grain patterns therein. 